Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the new interim speaker, Patrick McHenry, of ordering her to vacate her workspace in the U.S. Capitol building on Tuesday, just hours after the chamber’s abrupt leadership shake-up.
In a statement shared with NPR, Pelosi said she was asked to leave her space “immediately.”
“With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol,” she wrote, referring to McHenry, R-N.C., by his new formal title.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) the former House majority leader, was also asked to leave his Capitol office space, his staff confirmed to NPR.
NPR viewed the text of an email, which was reportedly sent to Pelosi’s staff at 6:11 p.m. on Tuesday, asking the team to remove their belongings by Wednesday.
“The Speaker pro tempore is going to re-assign H-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” the email reads.